Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Archive
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These featured pictures, as scheduled below, appeared as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in the last 30 days.
You can add an automatically updating POTD template to your user page using {{Pic of the day}} (version with blurb) or {{POTD}} (version without blurb). For instructions on how to make custom POTD layouts, see Wikipedia:Picture of the day.
August 31
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Sparassis crispa is a species of fungus in the family Sparassidaceae. It is sometimes called cauliflower fungus. It is common in Great Britain and temperate Europe (but not in the boreal zone), from July to November. Sparassis crispa grows in an entangled globe that is up to 10 inches (24 centimetres) in diameter, with larger specimens weighing up to 14 kilograms (30 lb) or more. It is considered a good edible fungus when young and fresh, but is difficult to clean before use. This S. crispa was photographed in Joure, Netherlands. The picture was focus-stacked from 20 separate images. Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma
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August 30
The Mandelbrot set is a two-dimensional mathematical set that is defined in the complex plane as the numbers for which the function does not diverge to infinity when iterated starting at . It was first defined and drawn by Robert W. Brooks and Peter Matelski in 1978, as part of a study of Kleinian groups, with Benoit Mandelbrot obtaining the first high-quality visualizations of the set two years later. Images of the Mandelbrot set exhibit an infinitely complicated boundary that reveals progressively ever-finer recursive detail at increasing magnifications; mathematically, the boundary of the Mandelbrot set is a fractal curve. The Mandelbrot set is well-known outside mathematics and is commonly cited as an example of mathematical beauty. These images, generated by a computer program, show an area of the Mandelbrot set known as "seahorse valley", which is centred on the point , at increasing levels of magnification. Image credit: Wolfgang Beyer
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August 29
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The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae, found in North America. It spends much of its time foraging in shallow water or on mud flats, often sweeping its bill from side to side in water as it seeks crustacean and insect prey. The bird is around 40–51 cm (16–20 in) in length and has a bill which is black, pointed, and curved slightly upwards towards the tip. Its breeding habitat consists of marshes, beaches, prairie ponds, and shallow lakes in the Midwestern United States and southern Canada. This American avocet was photographed in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge East Pond, New York City, United States. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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August 28
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"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by the American civil rights movement activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. In the speech, which was delivered to more than 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King called for civil and economic rights and an end to legalized racism in the United States. He noted the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which declared millions of slaves free, but said that "one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free". The speech is regarded as one of the most famous moments of the civil rights movement and among the most iconic speeches in American history. This photograph, from the collection of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, shows King shortly after concluding his speech, waving to the crowd assembled around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Washington Monument is visible in the background. Photograph credit: unknown
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August 27
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Pardachirus marmoratus is a species of flatfish in the true sole family Soleidae, native to the western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to Sri Lanka and along the east coast of Africa to Durban. It is found in shallow, coastal waters where the seabed consists of sand or mud, often near coral reefs, and feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates. The body is highly compressed, convex on the eyed side and flat on the blind side. Its colour is frequently whitish, pale brown to pale grey with a scattering of irregular dark brown ring shape markings and many dark brown spots on the head, body, and fins. Pardachirus marmoratus's colour provides camouflage when it rests on sandy or pebbled seafloors. This camouflaged P. marmoratus individual was photographed in the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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August 26
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Willistead Manor is a historic house located in the former town of Walkerville, Ontario, now part of Windsor. Designed by Albert Kahn for Edward Chandler Walker and built between 1904 and 1906, the manor was ceded to the community in 1921, a few years after Walker's death. Having served as Walkerville's town hall, the Art Gallery of Windsor, and a branch of the Windsor Public Library, it is currently used as a banquet hall. The manor is designed in the Tudor Revival style, and the grounds also include a coach house and a gate house of similar design. This photograph shows the front facade of Willistead Manor in 2025. Photograph credit: Chris Woodrich
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August 25
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The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a species of flowering plant in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit known as dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Australia, South Asia, and the desert regions of southern California in the United States. Phoenix dactylifera is the type species of the genus Phoenix, which contains 12 to 19 species of wild date palms. This focus-stacked photograph shows two mazafati dates grown in Iran, one whole and one halved with its seed removed. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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August 24
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The Apollo Lunar Module was the lunar lander that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the American Apollo program. Ten Lunar Modules were launched into space between 1968 and 1972. It was the first crewed spacecraft to operate exclusively in space, and remains the only crewed vehicle to land anywhere beyond Earth. Incapable of flight through Earth's atmosphere, the two-stage spacecraft was ferried to lunar orbit attached to the Apollo command and service module, about twice its mass. Its crew of two flew the Lunar Module from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface. During takeoff, the spent descent stage was used as a launch pad for the ascent stage which then flew back to the command module, after which it was also discarded. This photograph, taken by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, shows Buzz Aldrin removing equipment from the Lunar Module Eagle on the surface of the Moon at Tranquility Base. Photograph credit: Neil Armstrong
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August 23
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Say's phoebe (Sayornis saya) is a bird species in the tyrant flycatcher family, Tyrannidae. A common bird across western North America, it prefers dry, desolate areas. The species was named after Thomas Say, an American naturalist. It has a diet consisting primarily of insects such as grasshoppers, flies, crickets, beetles and bees, and occasionally small fish. Similar to the eastern phoebe, it sallies from a perch to catch insects in mid-air. Like other phoebes, it creates nests under bridges, canyon walls, wells and abandoned mine shafts, the cup-shaped nest created by the female out of grass and other fine materials. Say's phoebes have been found to breed anytime between late March and late August, egg clutches numbering between three and seven. Say's phoebe is known to use "song-like" displays as its main form of communication. The song is characterized as having a very loud pitch to begin and then slowly leveling off into a more steady pitch. This Say's phoebe was photographed in Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan, Canada. Photograph credit: Simon Pierre Barrette
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August 22
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Dua Lipa (born 22 August 1995) is a singer, songwriter and actress with British, Albanian and Kosovan nationalities. After a career as a model, she began a music career, signing with Warner Records in 2014. Her debut album, Dua Lipa (2017), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and spawned the singles "Be the One", "IDGAF", and the UK number-one single "New Rules". Her second album, Future Nostalgia (2020), became her first UK number-one album and peaked in the top-three in the US. It contained singles "Don't Start Now" (another UK number one, which also ranked in the top five on the United States year-end chart of 2020), "Physical", "Break My Heart", and "Levitating". Lipa subsequently scored her third and fourth UK number-one singles with the 2021 Elton John duet "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" and "Dance the Night" from Barbie the Album, the soundtrack of the film Barbie (2023), wherein she also made her acting debut. Her third studio album is Radical Optimism (2024), which again topped the UK Albums Chart and was preceded by the UK top-ten singles "Houdini", "Training Season", and "Illusion". Lipa's accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. This photograph shows Lipa performing at the 2016 SWR3 New Pop Festival in Baden-Baden, Germany. Photograph credit: Harald Krichel
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August 21
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Sarcophyton glaucum, also known as toadstool leather coral or rough leather coral, is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae, found from the Red Sea to the western Pacific Ocean. Like other members of Alcyoniidae, it does not have a hard exoskeleton. They are sedentary and taxonomically identified by calcareous sclerites on their exoskeletons, and feature polyps with eight tentacles. Sarcophyton corals build monospecific colonies, typically found in a range of intertidal, subtidal, and near-shore reef flat habitats. Individual S. glaucum corals grow up to 80 centimetres (31 in), usually on reef flats, in lagoons, or on seaward slopes. This S. glaucum coral formation was photographed in the Red Sea off the coast of Ras Katy, near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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August 20
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Hallelujah is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), directed by King Vidor, and starring Daniel L. Haynes and Nina Mae McKinney. Filmed in Tennessee and Arkansas, and chronicling the troubled quest of the sharecropper Zeke Johnson (Haynes) and his relationship with the seductive Chick (McKinney), Hallelujah was one of the first films with an all–African-American cast produced by a major studio. Released on August 20, 1929, Hallelujah was Vidor's first sound film, and combined sound recorded on location with sound recorded post-production in Hollywood. It was intended for a general audience, and was considered so risky a venture that MGM required Vidor to invest his own salary in the production. He expressed an interest in "showing the Southern Negro as he is" and attempted to present a relatively non-stereotyped view of African-American life, though the film has been criticized for prejudice and stereotyping. Hallelujah entered the public domain in 2025. Film credit: King Vidor
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August 19
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The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a twenty-dollar coin, or double eagle, produced by the United States Mint from 1907 to 1933. The gold coin is named after Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the obverse and reverse. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt sought to beautify American coinage, and proposed Saint-Gaudens as an artist capable of the task. Although he had poor experiences with the Mint and its chief engraver, Charles E. Barber, Saint-Gaudens accepted Roosevelt's call. The work was subject to considerable delays, due to technical difficulties as well as Saint-Gaudens's declining health. Saint-Gaudens died in 1907, after designing the eagle and the double eagle, but before the designs were finalized for production. After several versions of the design for the double eagle proved too difficult to strike, Barber modified Saint-Gaudens's design, lowering the relief so that the coin could be struck with only one blow. When the coins were finally released, they proved controversial as they lacked the words "In God We Trust", and Congress intervened to require the motto's inclusion. The coin was minted, primarily for use in international trade, until 1933. The 1933 double eagle is among the most valuable of U.S. coins, with the sole example presently known to be in private hands selling in 2021 for $18.9 million. This photograph shows the obverse (left) and reverse (right) of the high-relief version of the 1907 Saint-Gaudens double eagle. Coin design credit: United States Mint; photographed by Heritage Auctions
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August 18
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The Colonel is a farce in three acts by F. C. Burnand, premiered in 1881, based on Jean François Bayard's 1844 play Le mari à la campagne. The story concerns the efforts of two aesthetic impostors to gain control of a family fortune by converting a man's wife and mother-in-law to follow aestheticism. The man is so unhappy that he seeks the company of a widow in town. His friend, an American colonel, intervenes to persuade the wife to return to conventional behavior and obey her husband to restore domestic harmony, and the colonel marries the widow himself. The Colonel's initial run was at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, for 550 performances, while simultaneously a second company was touring the British provinces with the play. In October 1881, it received a command performance before Queen Victoria, the first play to do so since the death of Prince Albert in 1861. It transferred to the Imperial Theatre in 1883 and then to the new Prince of Wales Theatre in 1884. In July 1887, there was a revival at the Comedy Theatre. This cabinet card depicts Rowland Buckstone as Basil Giorgione (left) and Cissy Grahame as Nellie Forrester (right) reprising their roles in the 1887 revival of The Colonel. The sepia photographic print measures 14.6 cm × 9.9 cm (5.7 in × 3.9 in) and is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Photograph credit: London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company; restored by Adam Cuerden
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August 17
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The little corella (Cacatua sanguinea) is a white bird species in the cockatoo family, Cacatuidae. It is native to mainland Australia, in a broad arc from eastern South Australia through Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory around to coastal Western Australia. The species is also native to southern New Guinea and has been introduced to Tasmania. Its habitat includes savanna, shrubs and grasses as well as urban settings. It grows to a length between 35 and 41 centimetres (14 and 16 in), with a mass between 370 and 630 grams (13 and 22 oz). This little corella of the subspecies C. s. gymnopsis was photographed perching on a tree branch near the Murray River in Paisley, South Australia, across the river from Blanchetown. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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August 16
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Charles Roscoe Savage (August 16, 1832 – February 4, 1909) was a British-born landscape and portrait photographer most notable for his images of the American West. Savage converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his youth while living in England. He served a mission in Switzerland and eventually moved to the United States. In America he became interested in photography and began taking portraits for hire in the East. He traveled to Salt Lake City with his family and opened up his Art Bazar where he sold many of his photographs. Savage concentrated his photographic efforts primarily on family portraits, landscapes, and documentary views. His work includes an 1869 series of photographs of the linking of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah. This self-portrait of Savage was taken in the 1880s. Photograph credit: Charles Roscoe Savage; restored by Adam Cuerden
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August 15
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Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) was an American feminist, writer and lecturer. She grew up in poverty in New England. After the break-up of her marriage in 1888, she moved to Pasadena, California, where she became involved with feminist organizations and began writing poetry and short stories on feminism. This included "The Yellow Wallpaper", which was published in The New England Magazine in 1892 and is the all-time bestselling title published by the Feminist Press. Inspired by Gilman's own experience, it describes a woman who descends into madness while trapped in a room by her husband. She went on to become a lecturer, touring locations across the United States. This photographic portrait of Gilman was taken by Charles Fletcher Lummis in around 1900. Photograph: Charles Fletcher Lummis; restored by Adam Cuerden
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August 14
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Arctocephalus forsteri, sometimes called the Australasian fur seal or the New Zealand fur seal, is a species of fur seal in the family Otariidae, the eared seals. It is found mainly around southern Australia and New Zealand, in coastal waters and on offshore islands. The male of this species has an average mass of around 126 kilograms (278 lb) and a length of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in), while females are typically between 30 and 50 kilograms (66 and 110 lb), with a length of up to 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). Arctocephalus forsteri has a deeper and longer dive than any other fur seal, with males being able to descend to 380 metres and stay underwater for 15 minutes. It has a diet which includes cephalopods, fish, and birds, and makes use of vocalisations and olfactory recognition for communication. The population of the species has been significantly reduced by human activity, and it is protected by legislation in both Australia and New Zealand. This female A. forsteri seal with a suckling pup was photographed at Admiral's Arch on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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August 13
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Naba Kailash Mandir is a Hindu temple in Kalna City, West Bengal, India. The temple structure consists of 108 smaller temples, each with a height of around 6 metres (20 feet) and width of around 3 metres (9.5 feet), arranged in two concentric circles. The site is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. The inner circle has a circumference of about 102 metres (336 feet), and the outer circle has a circumference of about 220 metres (710 feet). The temples are built on low raised base-altars. This aerial photograph of Naba Kailash Mandir was taken in 2020. Photograph credit: Sudipta Maulik
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August 12
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Hypericum androsaemum, commonly known as the shrubby St. John's wort, tutsan or sweet-amber, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is native to Western Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, but has been introduced elsewhere, including Australia and New Zealand. In these countries, it is often considered a noxious weed. Hypericum androsaemum is found in damp and shady areas at a great range of elevations, from low-lying regions up to 1,800 metres (5,900 feet) in elevation. It requires heavy rainfall, typically greater than 750 millimetres (30 inches) of annual precipitation. Hypericum androsaemum is a small bushy shrub, reaching 30 to 70 centimetres (0.98 to 2.30 feet) tall, with many stems which remain upright and erect, and oval-shaped leaves along its stems. It has yellow flowers, five petals and, uniquely among Hypericum, its berries, which ripen by late summer, turn from red to black and remain soft and fleshy even after ripening. Its seeds germinate in the fall and it flowers when it is between 18 and 24 months old, typically from late spring to early summer. This photograph, showing two ripe H. androsaemum berries, was focus-stacked from 23 separate images. Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma
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August 11
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The graceful pitta (Erythropitta venusta) is a species of bird in the family Pittidae. It occurs on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The graceful pitta has a length of around 18 cm (7.1 in) in length. It is a predominantly black bird with reddish undertones, the bottom of its wings featuring vivid blue stripes while the lower breast and abdomen are crimson. It has a call which has been described as resembling a high-pitched train whistle which remains at a consistent pitch. The graceful pitta is very rare and is at risk and vulnerable. Although it has been legally protected from hunting since 1931, it is threatened by habitat loss as a result of deforestation. This graceful pitta was photographed in tropical rainforest at Sumatra's Barisan Mountains. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison |
August 10
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Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by the indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including Badeline, a personification of her self-doubt who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain. Development of Celeste began in August 2015, when game developers Maddy Thorson and Noel Berry participated in a game jam, where they created Celeste for the PICO-8. It was released as a full game on January 25, 2018, for Linux, macOS, the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 4, and Windows, before being released on the Xbox One the following day, and on Google Stadia in July 2020. This cover art for Celeste depicts, from left to right, the characters Badeline, Oshiro, Madeline, Granny, and Theo. Cover art credit: Maddy Makes Games |
August 9
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The Bank is a silent slapstick comedy that was Charlie Chaplin's tenth film for Essanay Films. Directed and written by Chaplin, the film was released on August 9, 1915. In a review for Variety, Sime Silverman called it "the most legitimate comedy film Chaplin has played in many a long day, perhaps since he's been in pictures". Film credit: Charlie Chaplin
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August 8
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Cognac is a type of brandy named after the commune of Cognac in western France. Cognac production falls under French appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designation, which stipulates that it must be grown in a specific wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. The AOC also mandates that particular grapes (of which St. Émilion is the most common) be used, and that the drink be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in oak barrels from designated surrounding areas of France. Close to 200 cognac producers exist, of which the largest producers are Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell and Rémy Martin. This photograph shows cognac in a snifter, a glass with a large tapered bowl and a short stem that allows the drinker to enjoy the aroma by placing their hand underneath the bowl and warming the cognac. Photograph credit: Didier Descouens
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August 7
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The map (Araschnia levana) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found from Spain through Europe and east through the Palearctic to Central Asia and the Russian Far East to Korea and Japan. The map exhibits seasonal dimorphism which means it has two different forms, depending on whether its larva grows in the summer or the winter. The summer form (prorsa) has black wings, while the winter form (levana) – adapted for diapause – has red wings. Before the butterfly was fully understood, these were thought to be two different species. The eggs are laid in long strings, one on top of the other, on the underside of stinging nettles, the larval food plant. It is thought that these strings of eggs mimic the flowers of the nettles, thereby evading predators. This map, in the prorsa form, was photographed in the Piatra Craiului Mountains, Romania. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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August 6
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Nader Shah Afshar (6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran from 1736 to 1747, when he was assassinated during a rebellion. He fought numerous campaigns throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia, emerging victorious from the battles of Herat, Mihmandust, Murche-Khort, Kirkuk, Yeghevārd, Khyber Pass, Karnal, and Kars. He has been described as "the last great Asiatic military conqueror", and his victories during his campaigns briefly made him West Asia's most powerful sovereign, ruling over what was arguably the most powerful empire in the world. Nader also changed the Iranian coinage system, minting silver coins, called Naderi, that were equal to the Mughal rupee. This silver coin was minted in Dagestan and is dated 1741–1742. Coin design credit: unknown; photographed by American Numismatic Society
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August 5
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Carmen Miranda (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "the Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. Despite being stereotyped, Miranda's performances popularized Brazilian music and increased public awareness of Latin culture. In 1941, Miranda was the first Latin American star to be invited to leave her hand and footprints in the courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and was the first South American honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She died in Beverly Hills, California, and is buried at the Cemitério de São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro. This photograph depicts Miranda in a scene from the 1941 film Week-End in Havana. Photograph credit: 20th Century Fox; restored by Adam Cuerden
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August 4
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The Cheat is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is a remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1915 film The Cheat, using the same script by Hector Turnbull and Jeanie MacPherson. The remake stars Pola Negri and was directed by George Fitzmaurice, and tells the story of Carmelita De Cordoba, a beautiful young South American woman who has been betrothed by her stern father to Don Pablo, whom she despises, and then meets and falls in love with Dudley Drake, a New York City broker. With no known prints of The Cheat remaining, it is considered a lost film, although there is an extant version in novel form, written in the same year as the film by Russell Holman, a Paramount Pictures employee. This color lithograph poster was produced in 1923 by Paramount to promote The Cheat, and depicts Negri as Carmelita with Charles de Rochefort as Claude Mace, an art swindler masquerading as the East Indian prince Rao-Singh. Poster credit: Paramount Pictures; restored by Ezarate
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August 3
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The Indochinese green magpie (Cissa hypoleuca) is a small colorful bird native to the forests of China and southern Asia, through to Vietnam. It is nonmigratory and is found at altitudes up to 1,500 metres (4,900 feet), preferring moist forests and tree canopies within the tropical and subtropical regions, where its plumage provides camouflage. The Indochinese green magpie is approximately 35 centimetres (14 inches) in length, with a green upper body and an underbelly either yellow or green in colour. It features a black band that goes from its bill over the crimson eyes to the back of their head. It is a songbird, with vocalisations including noisy chattering, rasping notes, screeches, and a ringing whistle. This Indochinese green magpie of the subspecies C. h. hypoleuca was photographed in Đà Lạt, Vietnam. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison
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August 2
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Lamium purpureum, commonly known as the red dead-nettle, among other names, is an annual herbaceous flowering plant. Native to Eurasia, it can also be found in North America, and frequently occurs in meadows, forest edges, roadsides and gardens. It grows with square stems to a height of 5 to 20 centimetres (2 to 8 inches), and occasionally up to 40 centimetres (16 inches). The leaves have fine hairs, are green at the bottom and shade to purplish at the top, while the zygomorphic flowers are bright reddish purple. The pollen is crimson red in colour and thus very noticeable on the heads of the bees that visit its flowers. The plant contains various oils and is characterized by its high contents of germacrene D. Young plants have edible tops and leaves, which are used in salads and stir fries as a spring vegetable. The plant has also been used for many years in folk medicine and herbal remedies. This L. purpureum inflorescence was photographed in Tutermaa, Estonia. The picture was focus-stacked from 101 separate images. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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